head to head · open source
Invoice Ninja vs Expensify
Invoice Ninja has 10,464 GitHub stars, 2,793 forks, 945 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Expensify has 5,087 stars, 4,093 forks, 2,252 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Invoice Ninja leads on adoption by 106% (10,464 vs 5,087 stars). Invoice Ninja is written in PHP under a custom or non-standard licence; Expensify is written in TypeScript under MIT. Invoice Ninja has attracted 27% as many forks as stars, Expensify 80%. Expensify was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
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Side by side
| Invoice Ninja | Expensify | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 10K | ★ 5.1K |
| License | Custom / other | MIT |
| Written in | PHP | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.8K | ⑂ 4.1K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Invoice Ninja if
- You weight community size — 10K stars and counting
- You want the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches PHP
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Expensify if
- You want the Expensify feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and Expensify fits your workflow better
About Invoice Ninja
Invoice Ninja 5 Invoice Ninja Version 5 is here! We've taken the best parts of version 4 and added the most requested features to create an invoicing application like no other. Check the Invoice Ninja YouTube Channel to get up to speed, or try the Demo now. Choose your setup Hosted: Our hosted version is a Software as a Service (SaaS) solution. You're up and running in under 5 minutes, with no need to worry about hosting or server infrastructure. Self Hosted: For those who prefer to manage their own hosting and server infrastructure. This version gives you full control and flexibility. All Pro and Enterprise…
read the full Invoice Ninja overview →
About Expensify
New Expensify Table of Contents Local Development Platform Specific Setup Testing on browsers in simulators and emulators Running The Tests Additional Reading Application Philosophy API Details Contributing to Expensify Expensify Code of Conduct Contributor License Agreement React StrictMode Left Hand Navigation(LHN) HybridApp additional info & troubleshooting Local development These instructions should get you set up ready to work on New Expensify 🙌 Getting Started 1. Install nvm then node & npm : brew install nvm && nvm install 2. Install watchman : brew install watchman 3. Install dependencies: npm install…
read the full Expensify overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Invoice Ninja or Expensify more popular?
Invoice Ninja has 10,464 GitHub stars and Expensify has 5,087. Invoice Ninja has the larger community by that measure.
Are Invoice Ninja and Expensify free?
Both are open source. Invoice Ninja has no licence declared in this registry, and Expensify is licensed under MIT. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between Invoice Ninja and Expensify?
Invoice Ninja is written in PHP and Expensify in TypeScript. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, Invoice Ninja or Expensify?
Choose Invoice Ninja if you want the larger community (10,464 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose Expensify if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.